Inside Syria's abandoned homes

Updated 4:05 PM ET, Wed January 15, 2014

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Photos:Photos: Inside Syria's abandoned homes

Inside Syria's abandoned homes – Italian photographer Matteo Rovella spent June in the Syrian city of Aleppo, capturing the impact of the country's brutal civil war on its population. He was particularly struck by the many destroyed and abandoned homes "where time seems to have stopped," he said.

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Photos:Photos: Inside Syria's abandoned homes

Inside the lost homes of Aleppo – Rovella traveled into Syria via the Turkish border with the Free Syrian Army, the country's main opposition force.

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Photos:Photos: Inside Syria's abandoned homes

Inside the lost homes of Aleppo – This picture shows the remains of a Free Syrian Army commander's home. "The living room was literally sliced in half," he said.

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Photos:Photos: Inside Syria's abandoned homes

Inside the lost homes of Aleppo – Rovella said that to him, the images showed scores of lives in the process of being interrupted. "You are obligated to leave your things, your home, your life and go away, maybe to not come back," he said.

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Photos:Photos: Inside Syria's abandoned homes

Inside the lost homes of Aleppo – Some of his images have an almost unbearable poignancy. "Almost all the families and the people I met lost their house because of bombing," he said.

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Photos:Photos: Inside Syria's abandoned homes

Inside the lost homes of Aleppo – Rovella described the images as capturing the moment a person or family's life changed forever. "You can see inside them the tensions and fear, (the) moments of violence," he said.

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Photos:Photos: Inside Syria's abandoned homes

Inside the lost homes of Aleppo – "You see such scenes, and you imagine the moment when people had to escape from the rooms," Rovella said. "I imagine the people who must run away or they will die."

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Photos:Photos: Inside Syria's abandoned homes

Inside the lost homes of Aleppo – The eerie quality of the photos is striking, with mundane household items strewn amid the rubble of countless battles.

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Inside the lost homes of Aleppo – The constant threat of attack or getting caught in crossfire between rebels and government forces meant Rovella had to work quickly. "I was walking through buildings and taking pictures very fast," he said. "But I tried to do it in an artistic way. "

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Photos:Photos: Inside Syria's abandoned homes

Inside the lost homes of Aleppo – Despite the carnage, Rovella was moved by the resilience of those he encountered. "People are desperate," he said. "They are a mix of tears, sorrow and anger, and they wonder why no one ... is helping them. But they don't give up."